@The_Good_Captain said in "East & West" by Imp Games - Discussion:
buy a spy with the pregame IPC
What’s the implied game-ender that the Soviet spy provides? Spain?
I’ve said it upthread, but I think that’s also the strong counter-point to saying, “US can go all in on the Pacific, and there’s literally no downside.”
Leaving France susceptible to that stab in the back is what makes me think the Kamchatka push is less of a sure thing. I feel like a split focus between Europe and Asia for the US is often warranted.
@The_Good_Captain said in "East & West" by Imp Games - Discussion:
the USSR has to blow holes in its economy to build the two needed to make something you might call a difference in the naval war.
The situation in the Pacific is really a gambit, just because the US has the option to potentially retreat up to 2 subs, out of the Soviet attacks. But like I said, I’ve often seen the US lose all of the naval units that are attacked on S1.
That leaves them with 1 bb, 1 crz, 2 CV for the Pacific (generally assuming they’ll lose the Hawaii sub in mopping things up.) If those get taken out by a nuke (even if you lose some fighter aircraft to save ships) the remaining transports are pretty vulnerable to a kamikaze-style attack. If nothing else, that would cause a player like myself to consider pivoting my navy somewhere out of fighter range (i.e. perhaps supplying India instead.)
If the Soviets get the nuke tech early enough, I know that the US can’t really afford to have their navy out of position if/when the nuke arrives – that’s why in games where that early tech happens, I’ll often just focus on the southerly route, with an IC in the Philippines.